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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has always been exploring opportunities for cooperation between industry, academia and the research sector. Last month, the Institute of Network Coding (INC) at CUHK signed a collaboration agreement with SI-TECH Information Technology Co., Ltd (SI-TECH), to apply CUHK research works on Network Coding to the core technique of cloud storage of the SI-TECH mobile billing data centre.

The agreement signing ceremony held in CUHK was officiated at by Prof. Walter Ho, Director, Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS) at CUHK, Prof. Raymond Yeung, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Information Engineering and Co-Director of the INC at CUHK, and Mr. Foster Wu, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of SI-TECH, together with other involved personnel.

Through this collaboration, SI-TECH will apply theories and algorithms of Network Coding based Distributed Data Storage (NCDS), developed by Prof. Yeung and his team, to its mobile billing data centre. NCDS is based on the concept of network coding which can improve the capacity and efficiency of data storage by reducing the required storage hardware and the repair time of data storage systems as a whole. This is especially important amid the fast growth of data which is projected for the years ahead.

Prof. Yeung remarked, “This will be an important impact case demonstrating the collaboration between the University and industry. SI-TECH took about a year to develop a billing information storage system. They are very strong in filing systems, but applying coding for storage is INC’s advantage. During the development process, our team complemented them in this aspect. The system is already undergoing a trial run and SI-TECH will use NCDS for in-house use, for other billing operators, and furthermore, for other industries in mainland China.”

The INC has been actively exploring opportunities for technology transfer to technology companies. This is the first collaboration agreement signed with a proven technology company in mainland China. Prof. Ho said, “I am gratified to see another piece of important technology developed at CUHK being transferred to industry. This is in line with our University’s mission, which is to strive to nurture innovation, entrepreneurship and knowledge transfer for the advancement of humanity.”

Mr Wu said this was also of strategic importance to SI-TECH as this was the first collaboration agreement with a tertiary education institution outside mainland China. He believed the technology developed by CUHK would effectively improve the core competence of the company, and the reliability, security and intelligence of its future products in the distributed environment for cloud computing and for the Internet of Things (IoT). Founded in 1995 and listed on the ChiNext of Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2017, Si-Tech provides integrated information and communications technology (ICT) solutions in cloud, big data and mobile internet to telecommunication companies, government and small and medium businesses.

About the INC

INC was established in 2010 with funding support from the Areas of Excellence Scheme under the Research Grants Council (RGC) of the HKSAR Government and a matching grant from CUHK. It is the world’s first institute which conducts cutting-edge research on the theory of network coding and its various applications in internet communications, wireless communications, information security, and data storage. It aims to further enhance Hong Kong’s leading position in network coding by publishing original research findings and developing advanced technologies based on such findings.

Website: http://www.inc.cuhk.edu.hk/

About The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Founded in 1963, CUHK is a leading comprehensive research university with a global reputation. Located in the heart of Asia, CUHK has a vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West.  Under the University’s unique collegial system, the programmes and activities offered by its nine colleges complement the formal curricula by delivering whole-person education and pastoral care. The University has eight faculties: Arts, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and Social Science. Together with the Graduate School, the University offers over 300 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. All faculties are actively engaged in research in a wide range of disciplines, with an array of research institutes and research centres specialising in interdisciplinary research of the highest quality.

CUHK is recognised as the most innovative university in Hong Kong and ranks 27th in the Asia-Pacific region by the latest ‘Reuters: Asia Pacific’s Most Innovative Universities’ listing. The University currently has more than 800 granted patents in different jurisdictions worldwide. A majority of these patents have been licensed to relevant industries that help bring these innovations to the market to benefit society. In academic year 2016-17, CUHK has received 88 granted patents and filed 183 patent applications for inventions developed in the areas of medical technology, biotechnology, information technology, telecommunications, and materials science.

To learn more about CUHK, please visit www.cuhk.edu.hk.